Moving On
by Annika Richards
Summary: Ryker is depressed, the memories of Ashlar's death plaguing him. When he has to enter the games again, he is forced to relive painful memories. Will he ever be able to move on?
1. Chapter 1

The loss of Christian hit me a different way every day. One day I might be happy, remembering the times we were together in the little cluster of trees at the edge of District 2. The next day, I might be crying because of the way she died. Even though I missed her terribly, I excepted the fact that there was nothing I could do to bring her back. She was gone. Her groans filled my ears every minute of the day.

I was walking through the town on my way to Victor's Village, when someone tapped my shoulder. I jumped, spinning around, coming face to face with the prettiest girl I've ever seen, next to Christian that is. She had long, wavy, dark brown hair that just reached her waist. Her eyes were a dark forest green, darker than mine, with tiny flecks of gold. Her skin, instead of being white like mine, was a smooth, golden tan, like the inside of an almond. What was even weirder, was that out of the small District we lived in, I had no clue who this girl was. She was like a goddess. And when she smiled... oh God... She glowed.

" Hello. I'm Alana." She says, smiling prettily, showing off her perfectly even, white teeth. She flips her hair out of her face, golden highlights glittering in the sun. I blush, my cheeks growing hot. I rarely blushed, even around Christian.

" Yo. You new here?" I reply, trying to sound cool. She laughs, her eyes glittering, and shakes her head.

" No. I just haven't been out for a while. I'm the Mayor's daughter." The Mayor's daughter?! My God, she's amazing! I smile back, trying to come up with something cool to say. I shook my hair out of my face with one smooth move.

" Wow. You had me thinking that I was so wrapped up in my own life that I hadn't noticed a pretty girl like you." I looked at her. This time, she blushed.

" Thanks. It must be hard for you, losing someone you love so much. It was really horrible to see her go like that. What was her name? Christian?"

I swallowed. Hearing Christian's name made me want to cry, but there's no way I was going to cry in front of her. She gave me a sympathetic smile. "Sorry. I really am. See ya." She said, spinning on her heels and walking away, her hair curtaining behind her.

That night, I dreamt of the green eyed goddess who captured my heart, though I felt guilty. Was I betraying Christian? Was this girl who I met for ten minutes really what I wanted? She was beautiful, no doubt, but did I need any more attention since Christian died? Her death had caused an uprising, and I was blamed for it. Would getting involved so soon calm the districts down, or make them revolt even more violently than before? Wallace was proud of me, but would he still be proud if I fell in love with the Mayor's daughter? My decision could bring down the Capital, or it could bring down the districts instead.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up the next morning, my stomach growling loudly. I sighed. Every day without Ashlar was painful, even without feeling guilty for liking Alana, who I had met the day before. I sighed, still in bed, brushing my hair away from my face. Everything was so confusing.

I still remembered Ashlar's last breath, how beautiful she looked before she died. I sang her a song. One that I improvised that moment before she died. I remember the scared look in her eyes when she couldn't speak, just spit up blood. Then, her smile when I started to sing. Her brown hair flowing in waves around her head, stained by sweat and blood.

These pictures played in my mind, day after day, driven into my very existence. It took all of my strength to push back the memories that plagued me, brushing away my sanity bit by bit. Now, the only thought that seemed to keep me together, was Alana. It seemed ironic that an angel was here to save me from hell. However, I felt as if I was betraying Ashlar by moving on with my life.

Getting dressed in jeans and a collared shirt, I devoured a hasty breakfast, heading out to the square for the reaping. At this time last year, I was holding Ashlar's hand, waiting for the female tribute to be picked. They were running late.

A few long minutes passed, then a woman came out. It was Effie again, but she looked somewhat destressed. Standing by the podium, she announced that year's quarter quell, which they had delayed because of the uprisings in other districts.

" For this year's Quarter Quell, we will pick the tributes out of the existing pool of Victors." She said, a single tear falling down her cheek. The crowd was quiet, everyone looking at me. I could tell what they were thinking. _But he just got out of the games. He lost his girl for nothing. He'll die anyway..._ I squared my shoulders and glared around at the people who still stared. I could feel them shrink away in fear. Effie kept on talking.

" For the girl..." Effie picked a neatly folded paper from the glass bowl, unfolding it and pushing her hot pink spectacles up the bridge of her nose. "Alexis Strongheart." A girl who looked to be around 22 years old with long brown hair walked onto the platform, smiling, showing glittery, white teeth, posing for the cameras.

"Now, the boy..." She continued, picking a slip of paper from the boys jar, scrabbling to get the lone piece of paper. It had my name on it. I was the only male victor alive. "Ryker Weinders." I stood tall, head held high, and walked purposefully up on the platform next to Alexis, smiling proudly, even though I was falling apart inside.

We were ushered into the train, where they told us to wait for our Mentor. After they blamed Nolan for the uprisings and turned him into an Avox, we only had a female Mentor. When she walked into the car, I was shocked. There stood Alana, a non-victor. She smiled sadly when she saw me.

" The Capitol thinks Victors feel to strongly about the Games. Every District now has the Mayor's eldest child as a Mentor For the Games to prevent any more uprisings." She sat down on the chair across from me, her hands clasped elegantly. I nodded slowly, only paying attention to her body move as she spoke. Then, she stopped, standing up.

" You have a long couple of nights ahead of you, so get some sleep while you can. Dinner will be ready in a few hours." Then, my angel walked out the door, glancing at me before she went. I could see that she wanted me just as much as I wanted her. We were both hurting inside, and somehow, I believed we could heal each other. If only there was more time. I got up and walked to my room, the same one I shared with Ashlar. I spent the night remembering everything, which only made the hole in my heart bigger.

I skipped dinner, going to bed early and starting to work on my letter to my parents for when I die. When I die. You know, no one wins the Hunger Games twice.


End file.
